1. Field of the Invention
Players of video games, including multiplayer games and other multiuser systems, have historically desired to publicize their accomplishments and exploits, at least to friends and other interested parties. For example, arcade games have traditionally incorporated a “TOP SCORE” list whereby high-scoring users could enter their initials into the list if their score was one of the top scores achieved.
Later systems that provided user information include those that provide statistics about characters in multiplayer games. One such system is incorporated into the website www.EQ2players.com, which provides statistics about player characters in the massive multiplayer online role-playing game (“MMORPG”) Everquest II®. These systems provide, automatically, a certain amount of player character data, such as level and equipment information.
2. Summary of the Presently Claimed Invention
Systems and methods are provided here for at least partially automating content generation of web page entries chronicling an entity's interaction with a multiuser environment. The same may be performed in a balanced way, combining automatic data generation with user-generated and/or user-edited or created narrative.
For example, systems and methods are provided for automatically generating and publishing descriptions, such as posting blog articles. In one implementation, a system automatically posts blog articles with automatic screenshots and automatically-generated descriptive copy of events that occur within a video game, such as in an MMORPG.
Features provided in implementations can include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following items: tracking online events and activity to recognize when to generate descriptions; automatic generation of a description of an online event, including text and optional images, sounds, and/or video; accepting user editing of a generated description; allowing user text input; and automatic publishing of a generated description in one or more venues.
In one implementation, descriptions of events are generated automatically, at least in part. The system and method may create a blog for players or users of online games, with entries added automatically based on their in-game accomplishments and events, as well as those of their friends. Any notable events that were triggered during a play session may have screenshots of the scene taken automatically, and may be further informed by metadata about the area, events, NPCs, PCs, and so on. The events may thus be used to create an entry in the user's blog at, e.g., the end of the user's play session. At that point, the user can either leave the entry as the system made it, or edit it to their own tastes. Thus a blog-format journal of their adventures in-game is created, populated with one or more of data, text, screenshots and video from in-game about the event.
The player's blog page may also include the latest entries from the player's friends' blogs. In addition, the user can add completely original articles or other material to the blog (i.e., items not created by the auto-blog system).
In another implementation, the system generates and publishes the descriptions completely automatically. In this case, the descriptions and any accompanying media are not editable by the user. The automated descriptions may be used for a blog or other publishing mechanism to inform players of events in the game world. For example, an in-game newspaper could be generated in this way. Alternatively, the automatically-created entries are editable by system administrators or the game provider, but not by the end users, e.g., players.
In a further implementation, the system generates a consolidated page for a single user. The consolidated page includes content generated for multiple characters and/or games that the user is playing. Such a page would collect the blog articles from all of a user's characters in one place.
In another implementation, the system may support users utilizing XML to embed these character blogs in other web pages they might have, just as in their real life blog, i.e., a non-game blog.
In one aspect, the invention is direct towards a system for automatically generating at least partial entries in a blog or web page corresponding to events pertaining to an entity in a multiuser environment, including: a first module for implementing and operating a multiuser environment, the first module including at least a user interface, a database, and a software engine for conducting user interactions; a second module for monitoring events pertaining to an entity in the multiuser environment; a third module for selecting at least one of the events monitored by the second module based on a predetermined criteria; and a fourth module for generating an entry for a web page corresponding to the selected event.
Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following. The entity in a multiuser environment may be a player character in a multiplayer game. The fourth module may generate an entry for a blog. The predetermined criteria may include one or more of the following: whether the player character has reached a predetermined geographic boundary within the multiplayer game; whether the player character has interacted with a predetermined non-player character or item; whether the player character has achieved a predetermined level within the multiplayer game; and whether the player character has accumulated at least a predetermined number of points within a predetermined time within the multiplayer game. The fourth module may generate an entry including a media item selected from the group consisting of: a screenshot corresponding to the event; an audio file corresponding to the event; a video corresponding to the event; and a predetermined text corresponding to the event. The fourth module may further provide an edit screen such that a user may edit the entry. The system may further include a fifth module, where the fifth module transmits the entry to a blog, a web page, a social networking site, and/or a file-sharing site.
In another aspect, the invention is direct towards a method for automatically generating at least partial entries in a web page corresponding to events pertaining to an entity in a multiuser environment, including: monitoring events pertaining to an entity in a multiuser environment; selecting at least one of the monitored events based on a predetermined criteria; and generating an entry in a web page corresponding to the selected event. The multiuser environment may be a multiplayer game.
Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following. The entry may include a screenshot, and the generating may further include grouping or composing at least a subset of pertinent non-player characters and player characters associated with the event into a single image.
In a further aspect, the invention is direct towards a computer-readable medium, containing instructions for causing a computer to implement the method above.
In yet another aspect, the invention is direct towards a method of building an online description of activity in an environment, including: receiving data indicating an event has occurred in an environment; matching the event to a trigger, where the trigger indicates a trigger event and a response; generating descriptive data according to the response of the trigger, where the descriptive data includes at least one of text, image data, and video data; and when a network is available, publishing the descriptive data to an online resource.
Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following. The method may further include providing an edit screen after the generating such that users may edit the generated descriptive data. The method may further include transmitting a notification of the publishing to one or more users.
Advantages of the invention may include one or more of the following. Users need not manually enter information about their characters into blogs or other web pages. Highly interesting information may be delivered about characters due to a combination of automatic text or images and editable text or images. Users can control what information about their characters is automatically posted. Other advantages will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, given the teachings and disclosures here.